Depending on who you talk to, longtime Portland activist JoAnn Hardesty's installation as president of the Portland NAACP is either a blessing or a nightmare. This local civil rights icon's assumption to the office was compared by one post to the impact of an incoming artillery shell. Don Merrill talks with Ms. Hardesty about how she's focused on helping the organization renew its tarnished image by cleaning house, setting new standards and following the first rule of getting yourself out of a hole; stop digging.
29:59 minutes (27.46 MB)

Bill Resnick hosts this episode, with the music of Phil Ochs, and segments on Charlie Hebdo, the Greek left, Teach for America, Studs Terkel, Property and the police state. Find us on Facebook or Twitter, and friend or follow us for updates and other stuff we like to share. Send us comments, suggestions, questions, or your ideas for contributions you'd like to make at oldmolevarietyhour-at--gmail-dot-com. To hear the whole show, click on the play button below.

Bill Resnick talks with David Finkel about the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the clash of barbarisms. They note that free speech is not a western value (as evidenced by the attacks on Julian Assange and James Risen); that the US has been complicit in journalists's deaths in Mexico, Indonesia and elsewhere; and that the US bears responsibility also for supporting Saudi Arabia, which supports and funds jihadists.
[image by Mpayot]
13:45 minutes (6.3 MB)

ARRESTING POWER: RESISTING POLICE VIOLENCE IN PORTLAND, OREGON uses archival materials, documentary footage and interviews with community members, activists and organizers to uncover Portland’s unique history of policing and race relations, emphasizing its rich history of resistance from the late 1960s to the present.
57:24 minutes (52.55 MB)

On Saturday, January 3, the local anti-police violence and social justice group Don't Shoot/Portland joined with 15 Now to protest at the McDonald's on SE 82nd and Powell. They called on McDonalds to pay a living wage to its workers, and more generally for a $15 and hour minimum wage city-wide. After an hour, the group marched north on 82nd, taking over two lanes of traffic and continuing their chants, "Oh Portland, Wake Up," "Hands Up, Don't Shoot," and others.
15:40 minutes (7.17 MB)

Frann Michel hosts the first Mole of the new year, which looks back to past activism and forward to new movements and continued struggle. To hear the whole show, click on the play button below. For individual segments, follow these links: